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November 26, 2013

Exploitation of high quality black coal deposits during the communist era of Czechoslovakia gave the city an industrial look
and the nickname “steel heart of the republic”

Though many of the heavy industry companies are being closed down or
transformed and the city is one of the most polluted in the European Union, the city surprises with some good examples of soc-realist architecture.

Socialist realism in architecture (called SORELA in communist Czechoslovakia) is characterised by monumentalism and historicism seeking
inspiration in the Renaissance and Classicism. Many buildings were inspired by Russian Stalinist style, which represented the then-peak of perfection.

In the town center of Ostrava there is a unique display of architecture and urban
planning from the turn of the 20th century.

Elektra Palace (side facade)

Soc realism and strange art

The house was built in the thirties of the last
century, and has been a cultural and social center since the beginning. In 1996, after a complete reconstruction of
the building it was declared a cultural
monument. It is now a Hotel.The spaced out piece of art in front of the building makes an interesting combination with the soc realism statues of the facade!The House of Fine Arts

The House of fine arts at Jurečkova 9 in the center of Ostrava

In 1923, the Association for the Establishment and Maintenance of an
Exhibition Pavilion in Moravian Ostrava was created, and held a design
competition. Two second places were awarded, one to architect Kamil
Roškot, the other to the team of František Fiala and Vladimír
Wallenfels. It was the later submission which was eventually realised in 1926.
The House of Fine Arts, built in an unusually original yet simple style,
was the most modern building of its kind in the region at the time.

The New City Hall

The new City Hall at Prokešovo náměstí 8 in Ostrava center

The new building from the 1920's was
to house not only the administration of greater Ostrava, but regional
offices as well. Brno architect Vladimír Fischer was awarded the
contract for the simplicity and balance of his design. His project was
later completed by František Kolář and Jan Ruby. From 1925-1930, the new
four-storey functionalist building with two three-floor wings and a
lookout tower of light steel was built that would come to dominate the
centre of Ostrava.It's the largest City hall in
the Czech Republic with the country’s highest City Hall
tower (85,6m high with a lookout 72m above Prokeš Square). In
the late 1990’s, the building underwent a considerable reconstruction,
including the council room and mayor’s office.

Sorela in Ostrava-Poruba

The Stalin Baroque a.k.a. SORELA a.k.a Socialist Realism in Architecture is what the official style of the
Communist era in the Czech Republic was called. A good example is the Ostrava borough of Poruba. The ground plan of streets and squares forms a regular pattern full of right angles. Blocks of flats are of the same height and form virtually closed complexes of residential buildings
of light sand colour, with the large courtyards typical of Russian
urban buildings. The sorela style includes a number of actual or implied
Classicist columns and triangular or stepped gables, as well as historicising elements
on the facades of buildings, celebrating national motifs and the
building of a new country. Despite this, sorela does not have only
negative aspects; the positive aspects include spacious boulevards, sufficient greenery and a traditional system of street blocks. Life in Ostrava-Poruba is definitely more pleasant than, say, on high-rise housing estates.(excerpts from http://www.czechtourism.com)

Air View of Ostrava-Poruba (http://czechofil.pinger.pl/a/2011/2/6/)

Monumental, historicist, symmetrical, decorative and full of Stalinist ideology – this is Socialist Realism, or ‘sorela’.

November 18, 2013

Brno is wellknown as the City of Bauhaus, Functionalism and Modern Architecture with the Villa Tugendhat and Hotel Avion as main pilgrim places for architects.For the enthusiast of functionalist and modern building the following site provides 14 architecture trails to visit the most important works.

Miroslav Kostelecký, a restaurant owner, decided to modernize his
restaurant in Česká Street in 1926 and had a new hotel designed by
Bohuslav Fuchs built in place of a former ground-floor inn. The
architect had to deal with the extremely narrow, originally medieval
parcel (8 x 34 m). Fuchs use of a ferro-concrete skeleton resulted in
remarkable spatial effects in the interior.

Besides those architecture classics there are some less known buildings that got my attention:

View of the Construction of the check-in airport terminal Brno-Tuřany built September 2005 – September 2006.

The departure lounge consists of a steel structure covered by specially
developed Titanium-Zinc hexagon template which creates a compact roof
and facade tiles at the same time.

The building was awarded with the title “Building of the Year 2007”
by an expert panel. The lounge was also appreciated by the public, as it
received the title “Prize of the Public – Building of the Year 2007”.

Length and height of the hall: 112m x 13.3 m

And here two buildings that I photographed around the city that grabbed my attention..and couldn't find out more about them.

renovated building in the old town center

Námesti Svobody (Brno's central square)

This is the second post of my little itinerary through Eastern Europe Prague-Brno-Ostrawa-Krakow-Zakopane-Presov-Beograd.
(The first stop was Prague featured in my post: Soviet Style Architecture in Prague

November 12, 2013

The city of Prague will not like this, but what I'd like to share in this post is not the picturesque old town and the majestic palaces along the Vltava river but the witnesses of the great Soviet style and Czech Brutalist Architecture that impressed me while visiting the Czech capital.

Metro station Jiriho z Podebrad

The first great surprise are the tunnels of the Line A of the 1970's Prague Metro Stations that are covered in a colorful patchwork of
metallic tiles in flat, convex and concave shapes in hues of gold,
silver, green, blue and red. This color concept is made by artist Jaroslav Votruba and the color scheme differs by station to make them recognizable.On this site you can find analyzes of the color composition:http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2010/10/07/pragues-colorful-metro-stations

The Kotva Department Store

kotva department store by vladimir and vera machonin

The Kotva Department Store (Revoluční 655/1) is famous for its strange Communist era architecture and for its separate kiosk stores located inside. Kotva designed by Vladimir & Vera Machonin was finished in 1975 and consists of an iron and concrete skeleton that is divided into six units giving the building a unique design. Each of these six units features different shops and different spaces but put together form a rather dynamic space. This extraordinary building sticks out in Republic Square as it was built in between historic houses and is neighbored by some of Prague’s Art Nouveau masterpieces.

kotva department store by vladimir and vera machonin

The Zivkov TV-Tower

Czech artist David Cerny added the crawling babies on the tower (not so sure if it was a good idea....)

The Zizkov Television Tower with 216 meters is the highest structure in the city of Prague. Built
between 1985 and 1992, started by the Communists, the tower was once
resented by local inhabitants, as the megalomaniac tower forever changed
the skyline of Prague and also destroyed part of a centuries old Jewish
cemetery where the foundations of the tower are located.

the tower has a panorama restaurant and a one-room Hotel

eero aarnio chairs at the observatory platform

The lounge of the observatory

This
building is famous for being the second ugliest building in the world
(I couldn't find out which one is number one) and of course it's not ugly
at all (I mean for me) and it makes a fantastic lookout point to enjoy
Prague's skyline from the observatory floor.For more information: http://www.towerpark.cz/en

The lounge at the entrance

the tower entrance

The former Czechoslovak Federal assembly

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=462856&page=6

The building of the former Czechoslovak Federal assembly was designed by Karel Prager in the 1960's and built around 1972.

Prager designed the Federal Assembly as a „house over house“. He then
developed the principle into a „city over city” when he suggested using
bridge structures to grow the city into a third dimension instead of its
growth out into the surrounding areas.

A symbol of its time – often hated and ignored – it was declared a cultural heritage in 2000.

The brutalist buildings in Czech Republic are often associated with the soviet domination period (which lasted until Spring 1968, however most of the brutalist building were built after that) so they tended to have a bad reputation in a very Western oriented Czech Republic.

(This is the first post of my recent Eastern Europe Tour. Here in short the itinerary: Prague-Brno-Ostrawa-Krakow-Zakopane-Presov-Beograd.)